My Cat Had a Fall And I Went Through Hell
by electrakitty74
Summary: Angel falls in love and adopts a friend for life. PreRENT


Sitting on her threadbare floral quilt on the grass next to Mimi, Angel sat forward, her legs folded underneath her. She watched the actors onstage, completely involved in the action. Romeo and Juliet was her favorite, and Shakespeare in the Park was, in her opinion, the best possible way to experience it. She was so entranced by the play that she hardly noticed when Mimi touched her shoulder.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what, Mimi-chica?" Mimi paused

"There. That. Did you hear that?"

"No, what?" Both listened intently. This time, she did hear it, a pathetic sound, a mewing. "Where is that coming from?"

"Sounds like over there, in those bushes," Mimi replied "Let's go have a look." Angel put her shoes on and stood up, careful not to block the view of those behind her. By the time Angel made it to the bushes, Mimi was already moving branches, looking for the source of the sound.

"It's definitely close, but I don't see anything." Angel started shifting branches herself, determined now to find what she was pretty sure was a cat. A moment later, she saw a green glow in the underbrush. A moment later, there was a flash of an open mouth, tiny teeth, and a tongue, followed by another mew. "Here it is!" Angel bent to pick up the little kitten. "He's all black, that's why we couldn't see him!"

"Awww! He's so adorable!" Mimi reached out to touch him. "Why is he all wet? Poor little guy, he's nothing but bones! What should we do with him?" Angel took less than a second to decide.

"I'm taking him home."

"Ooooh Angel! That's a great idea!"

"Let's get him home and dry." They headed back to their blanket. Mimi picked it up, stuffed it in into Angel's backpack, and swung the bag onto her shoulder. Angel carried the kitten carefully tucked into her shirt, trying to keep him warm. She hated to leave the play, but some things were more important. They stopped briefly at the corner grocery to buy some kitten food and litter. At Angel's favorite thrift shop, they found a litter box and dishes. Harry, the shop owner, threw in an old bright green towel for free to dry and wrap the still damp kitten. From there, they went to Angel's place across the street. Once inside, Angel put the kitten down at last. He stood on spindly baby legs and looked straigh at Angel and mewed plaintively. They both laughed. He'd been silent since Angel fished him out of the bushes.

"He must like you." Mimi giggled.

"He's perfect!" The kitten was already rubbing his ears on Angel's platform heels, pacing back and forth, purring and bumping her with all his weight. Mimi set up the litter box while Angel filled one dish with food and went to the sink for water. The kitten followed her into the kitchen, practically running now. He was eating almost before the dish hit the floor, purring as he ate. Mimi and Angel watched him from the doorway. When he was finished, they showed him where his litter box was. To Angel's delight, he seemed to know just what to do with it. Half an hour later, Mimi sat on the sofa, leaning on Angel, both watching the kitten sleep on his towel purring contentedly. Angel shifted a bit, moving her leg under Mimi and the kitten opened his eyes at the sound.

"Angel, his eyes are the same color as the towel." Mimi entwined her fingers with Angel's. "What're you going to call him?" The kitten stretched his front leg all the way to the claws, yawned and settled in more comfortably. His green eyes closed again.

"I think he needs a name which reflects his personality. What do you think about Sparkle?"

"I love it."  
"Sparkle it is."

------

As Angel opened the door to her apartment, she was greeted in the same way she had been almost every day for the past two years. She put her keys down on the entryway table where Sparkle stood, stretching his paws upward. He placed them on her shoulder. She picked him up and he settled happily into her arms, purring. She carried him around the apartment, telling him about her day.

"Ooh, I almost forgot. Harry has a gift for you, Sparkle." She rummaged with her free hand in the pocket of her jacket for the little box Harry had given her earlier in the day. She pulled it out and Sparkle was immediately interested. She opened the box and poured out a small handful of catnip onto the floor. Sparkle jumped from her arms and sniffed at the dried leaves. He purred even louder and started eating the catnip. Angel sat back on the sofa and laughed as he greedily ate all that he could, then rolled in the rest. After a few minutes of this, he fell asleep, purring. Angel laughed at him. "Niphead."

Later that evening, there was a knock on the door. Angel looked through her peephole and saw a familiar face. "Eric!" She opened the door, excited to see the muscular, handsome young man she'd met in the club the week before. As soon as she'd opened the door, she wasn't sure she should have. There was something wrong about him. He stormed into the apartment, visibly upset. "What's wrong Eric?" Sparkle started awake as Eric disturbed the calm of the apartment. He paced wildly, raking his hands through his hair. She tried again, following him "Eric? What's wrong?" He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her roughly, mashing her lips on her teeth. "Ouch! Eric, that hurts!" He pulled her closer and bit her neck. "Eric! Stop! Talk to me!" She managed to push him off of her and got away from him. "If you don't tell me what's wrong, I am calling the police." He broke down then, crying inconsolably. Angel couldn't help it. She went to him then, putting her arms around him and holding him close as he cried. Once he'd cried himself out, he finally looked at her, sobbing.

"Jason's got AIDS," he finally managed.

"Oh no, honey, I'm sorry." Jason was Eric's workout partner, one of his best friends. Angel started crying softly along with Eric.

"Angel, you don't get it. Jason's got AIDS."

"Sweetie, I get it, it's awful, I'm so sorry." Angel said softly into his ear, stroking his hair. He pushed roughly away.

"No, you don't get it. If he's got it, I've got it."

"What? Why?"

"He and I-- It was all his idea, he's the one who got me started. I'd have never done it on my own. He said it would make me stronger faster. I never thought anything about taking the needle from him."

"You shared needles with him?" Suddenly, it made sense. His muscles, his sudden anger. . .She had just thought his masculinity was sexy. . .Steroids would never have occurred to her. She realized that his drug of choice might have helped her dodge a bullet. They'd never had sex. He never could. She hadn't considered that the reason might be other than emotional. Inwardly, she sighed with relief and immediately chastised herself for thinking only of herself. She led him to the sofa and helped him sit down. He cried himself to sleep in her lap. A while later, she fell asleep herself, leaning against the window. She slept for a couple of hours, awakening a few hours later. The apartment was unbearably stuffy, she could hardly breathe. She leaned up, careful not to wake Eric and opened the window behind her. She made a mental note to talk to the super about the screens, there were always a million mosquitoes in here in the summer. Sparkle, sleeping in his basket across the room, stood up and stretched when he heard Angel moving. He crossed to her and meowed. "Shhh. . .Sparkle. Eric's still sleeping." Sparkle ignored her and jumped up onto the couch. He looked surprised when he landed on Eric's chest. He wasn't half as surprised as Eric. Eric sat straight up, Sparkle jumped off his chest, meaning to land on the back of the sofa. He missed and would've landed on the windowsill, except that Eric's flailing arm clipped him in midair and sent him sprawling. Angel watched in horror as Sparkle scrambled on the sill and went out the window. She jumped up off the couch, not even bothering to put on her shoes before she ran down the two flights of stairs to the street. She looked around wildly for the cat as soon as she opened the door. Sparkle was lying on the sidewalk, his right front leg bent at an unnatural angle. She cried out to him and he lifted his head. She was afraid to touch him, but knew she needed to help him. She called up to Eric to bring her something to wrap him in. He met her on the street, bringing Sparkle's green towel.

"Oh God, Angel, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. . .Let me pay for the vet. Jesus, this has been the shittiest day."

She spoke gently to Sparkle, wrapping her friend carefully in the towel, trying to ignore the blood soaking it from his broken front leg. Eric hailed a cab, neither of them noticing that Angel was still not wearing shoes.

Four hours later, when they made it home from the vet's office, Angel gently put her sedated cat into his basket. The vet had warned her to keep a close eye on him for the rest of the night. She sat down on the sofa, her eyes never leaving Sparkle's sleeping form. Eric sat awkwardly down next to her and took her hand. She looked at him without speaking. Neither knew what to say. Eric stood and went to the door. He let himself out, waving slightly at Angel. She only smiled wanly in return. Once he'd closed the door, she lay down on the sofa, crossing her ankles hardly noticing that her tights were completely run through. She waited up all night, watching Sparkle sleep. Around eight, he awoke and lifted his head woozily. He looked straight at Angel and opened his mouth to meow at her. Not a sound came out, and Angel laughed softly at him. He lowered his head and went back to sleep. Angel took this as a good sign and finally went to sleep herself.


End file.
